Reading Between the Lines
by ThePurpleMoon
Summary: AU Brittana fluff. Brittany and Santana are in their late twenties and have never met until Brittany enters the library where Santana works. Brittany is just looking for a book with her four-year-old daughter, but she ends up finding a lot more than that...even if it takes Santana some time to act on it. Quinn and Puck are also around (but not together). One-shot.


Disclaimer: Although I have added a few characters, the majority of them (you know who) belong to _Glee_ , not me. Also, although I do recommend the books, movies, and video games that are mentioned in this story, I do not have any rights to them.

Author's Note: This is a Brittana story. It's also pretty fluffy. If girls falling in love isn't your style, please find a different story to read. Also, this is an AU story where the girls are in their late twenties, and Brittany has an adorable child. (If you're wondering, Santana is gay in this, and Brittany is bisexual.) If that isn't your thing, please find a different story to read too.

If the aforementioned things *are* your thing or could be your thing, I hope that you enjoy this.

Two final items to mention here.

1) Every "-" or line indicates the passing of time...in case you wonder about that.

2) I would like to add that I haven't posted a story for a very long time (8 years), but this idea has been in my mind for a long time. I finally finished editing it today and wanted to share it.

* * *

Santana could hear them before she could see them. A woman and at least one child by the sound of it. Both of them were singing some song from that animated movie with the snowman…Frozen. That's it. They were singing a song from Frozen. The song stopped a few beats later. Then, Santana heard the child speak, "Mom, do you think they can help me find the book?"

"I'm sure they can, Sweetie."

"Great!"

The voices sounded closer a few seconds later. "Alright, Hannah, we're here. Do you remember what we talked about?"

"Libraries are quiet places."

"So…"

"We have to whisper," the last word was spoken a little more quietly than the rest of the conversation. However, she seemed a little too excited to be actually quiet. After a beat, the door opened, and in walked a blonde woman with an equally blonde little girl. Yes, Santana may have immediately noticed how beautiful the woman was, and Santana's eyes may have lingered for a few seconds as she took in the blonde's outfit, a combination of jeans, a blue sweater, and brown boots, but to be fair, the door usually opened to reveal one of the regulars or a teenager looking to use the free internet. So, seeing someone else walk through that door probably would have intrigued Santana anyway, even if it hadn't been a beautiful woman, but that point was probably moot since this woman definitely was near the level of stunning.

The little girl, presumably Hannah, appeared to be around four if Santana had to guess. She was wearing pink pants and a turquoise sweater with a koala on it. Aside from the fact that they walked in together, Santana immediately assumed that they were related because they looked so similar. Santana pretended to look back at her computer and typed a few keys on the keyboard before lifting up a book from the return tray.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the little girl stop and look at the woman she was with, and the woman nodded encouragingly. "Go ahead." The little girl didn't move, and they both just stood in the doorway. Then, blue eyes looked up from the little girl and met Santana's. The woman smiled at Santana. It made Santana realize that she was staring, and she looked back down at the book that she was holding in her hands before she finished checking it back in. She placed it on the cart of returned items that she needed to shelve later while she waited for the pair to approach the counter.

A moment later a blonde head appeared just above the counter. The little girl looked a little worried. It reminded Santana of when some of her friends used to joke that she'd scare all of the children away from the library, but she loved seeing their faces light up when they found books that they loved. At first, she was a little convinced that it might be true, but now she was pretty certain that she didn't scare them away. Santana smiled at the little girl. "Hi there. How may I help you?"

"Hi," the little girl smiled a little. "My name's Hannah. I'm looking for this book…but I don't remember what it is…" She paused and looked at Santana for a moment, and Santana suddenly felt as though Hannah was gauging Santana's worthiness. "One book talked about love, but my teacher read us that one in school…She said that he wrote more though! And there was one about a princess who fights a dragon."

"Hmm…" Santana paused as she thought about a few children's books dealing with princesses slaying dragons. There were a lot that dealt with love.

"Tell her what you told me, Hannah." The blonde woman encouraged, and the child scrunched up her face. She looked confused.

"Tell her what?"

"Part of the book about love says something about loving forever and—"

"—like you always," Hannah interrupted her to finish. Both of them grinned at each other. Oh yeah. Definitely related. "Yeah, that's the one."

The blonde with Hannah sighed, touched the ends of Hannah's hair affectionately, and then turned her attention to Santana. "I don't know if that's helpful. She really wants to read other books by him. I should probably just ask Ms. Lehrer, her teacher, about the one that was read in class and get the author's name, but I was sure that I could figure it out like a mystery. Hannah told me about it, and I just don't know it…I'm sorry; I'm not much help." As she finished a hand gesture that went along with her claiming to not be helpful, she placed her left hand on the counter and her right hand on Hannah's back.

Santana couldn't help but check the hand on the counter for a ring. That was ridiculous. She shouldn't have checked. Also, it didn't necessarily mean anything, but there was no ring. She needed to look somewhere else while she thought. Santana involuntarily smiled a moment later. "Actually, I think I know who you're talking about." She turned to Hannah. "I think that the author that you want is Robert Munsch. Do you want me to show you where his books are?"

Hannah smiled. "Yes, please."

"Okay, let's go." Santana led them both over to the section where she knew _Paper Bag Princess_ , the book that she was pretty sure Hannah wanted, would be. Santana pulled it off the shelf and handed it to Hannah. "Is this one the one?"

"Yes!" Hannah grinned when she saw the cover. That's it. That smile. That was the whole reason that Santana was a librarian. She loved that look on people when they found a world that they wanted to visit. Hannah turned to the blonde woman and asked, "Mom, can I look at the other books?"

"Sure," the blonde nodded, and Hannah wasted no time in grabbing a few nearby books and looking at the covers.

Santana went to walk back to her desk, but the other woman started to speak. "Thank you for helping us find the books. She has always liked reading at home with me, but her new teacher picks out two new books to read every day in class. Hannah loves it; I love it. I think it means that we're going to be here pretty often though."

"It's not a problem. Let me know if there is anything else that I can help you find."

"I will…"

When she noticed the other woman hesitate, she finished the sentence with her own name, "Santana."

"Santana." The woman smiled again. "I'm Brittany." She held out her hand for Santana to shake.

Santana had to take a step forward to shake her hand. Meeting Brittany's eyes after taking that step was the first time that she noticed that Brittany was a few inches taller than her. That fact clearly wasn't hiding itself earlier, but Santana found herself noticing it more now. Although Brittany was obviously beautiful, the butterflies that Santana felt when their hands touched still caught her off-guard. This was ridiculous. She just needed to help the patrons, not hit on them, especially since she tended to participate in "non-relationships" as Puck called it. Plus, she had promised to stop dating patrons after Lingering Lisa as Puck called her. Instead, she stuck to flings with girls that she and Puck met while they were out at bars. Also, just flings. "Let me know if I can help you with anything else," Santana added after a moment. She took her hand back and smiled before walking away.

"I will." Santana didn't let herself turn back around until she had made it all the way back to her desk. When she chanced looking again, two sets of blue eyes were focused on a growing pile of books on the floor.

* * *

Once Hannah made her way up to the counter with her books, Santana asked, "Are you all ready?"

"Yes," she glanced at her mother and added, "please."

Santana smiled at Hannah while she moved the books toward herself on the counter. She turned to Brittany to ask, "Do you have your library card with you?"

Brittany immediately flipped through the items on her keychain, "I do." While she was searching, she added, "I came in yesterday to fill out the paperwork while Hannah was at school." Brittany handed the correct card over, and Santana scanned it. Brittany's account popped up. Santana quickly gained a few pieces of information. Brittany Pierce. 0 items currently checked out. $0.00 owed in fines. "Thanks," Santana stated at she handed the card back to Brittany. Their fingers brushed when she handed the keys back, and Santana was pretty sure it was an accident. She was less sure when she noticed the small smile on Brittany's face. Santana turned back to the pile of library items. There was a variety of books in the pile, but she noticed a theme of dragons and other Robert Munsch works. It was mostly books, but there was one DVD, How to Train Your Dragon 2. "It looks like you found some good ones," Santana commented as she checked them out.

Hannah beamed, "Thank you." A few seconds later, Santana had handed them the books and receipt. Hannah immediately looked at her mom, "Let's go read."

"Okay," Brittany told her. She smiled at Santana, "Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Miss Santana," a small voice prompted and interrupted Santana while she was looking up some information online behind the front counter.

Santana looked down from the computer, and she smiled. "You can just call me Santana." She received a grin in reply. "What can I help you find, Hannah?" It had been about a week since she had seen her or Brittany.

"I'm looking for a new book," Hannah explained as Brittany slid the books into the return slot. "We were talking about the president at school. Then, my teacher read us some books. There was one with a girl with red hair who stood in a line and went to the White House. My teacher said that there's more."

Santana only had to hesitate to think for a moment, "Do you think her name was Madeline?"

"Yes!" Hannah grinned and looked at her mom, "That's it, Mom." She then added, "Maggie has red hair too."

"Maggie is one of her best friends," Brittany explained.

"I'll show you where the Madeline books are. Then, maybe you'll be able to show them to Maggie." Santana waited for the smile and nod from Hannah before checking if it was okay with Brittany who met her questioning eyes with a smile as well.

* * *

After helping another patron, Santana went back to work on the computer. She may have glanced over at Brittany and Hannah once or twice. The third time that she looked around the library, they had moved closer to look at movies, and Brittany caught her eye and smiled. Brittany immediately carried over a pile of books. "Are you ready to check out?" Santana asked.

Ignoring her question, Brittany casually stated, "So, I think you find books as well as Nancy Holmes solves mysteries."

Santana needed just a moment to get the reference, but she got there pretty quickly. Nancy Drew. Sherlock Holmes. Brittany was clever. Santana blushed and shrugged in response because she was afraid that she would compliment Brittany on just how smart she thought she was if she opened her mouth.

"What would you recommend for me?" Blue eyes looked up from the book whose corner Brittany had been moving back and forth on the counter and met Santana's.

"Um," that wasn't what she was expecting. A million options flashed through her mind just as quickly as she eliminated them all. They were just her first thoughts; they weren't perfect. Also, she needed to know what Brittany liked to read. In fact, she barely knew Brittany; she just seemed so intriguing. That thought was weird for Santana because usually she was bored pretty quickly. She rarely had a second date with someone for that very reason.

Before Santana could say as much or even make a suggestion for a book, Hannah's head peeked over the counter, "I got a movie, Mom."

Going with the necessary change of conversation, Brittany looked down at her daughter's choice, "Looks great, Hannah."

When Santana had finished checking the items out, she handed them over, "Here you go. Enjoy!" Honestly, she still felt a little flustered.

"Thanks, Miss Santana."

"Thanks, Santana."

* * *

Santana had spent the past hour listening to the complaints of multiple patrons regarding the internet speed, so when she heard someone approach the computer, she automatically replied without looking up, "I already reset it. I also called the internet company, but they're busy. I'll call back them after my shift ends, but I am not wasting my time waiting on hold right now. Look, I put this sign up. Read it." She tapped the sign on the desk. She had hoped that would stop them from asking; she was having the worst luck that morning.

"Hey, Santana," Santana's head snapped away from her computer. That was a voice that she hadn't heard for about a week once again. Not that she was counting or anything. Okay, so she maybe was, but that was ridiculous anyway. She blamed it on the fact that she hadn't gone home with anyone last weekend. When Puck questioned her, she just blew it off. When they made eye contact, Brittany smiled. At least she seemed mildly amused, not angry. Best luck. No, worst luck. Santana really needed to not hit on a patron…especially one who was probably with someone and quite possibly straight. Damn it. She definitely should have gone home with someone; maybe that would calm the butterflies that had taken up residence in her stomach.

Embarrassed, Santana tried to recover the conversation, "Hi, Brittany. I'm sorry. I thought you were someone asking about the internet."

Brittany quirked an eyebrow, "Actually, don't apologize too quickly. I do have a question for you." Brittany truly looked like she felt bad for asking a question when Santana seemed annoyed.

Santana's level of irritation immediately diminished, and her eyes softened. "Go ahead."

"Hannah wants to build a birdhouse this afternoon because they've been learning about nature in school and just went to the school forest, and I have no idea how to help with that."

"I'm sure we have something. Let me check." As she typed in a few keywords, she asked, "Are you pretty handy?"

"Um," Brittany stalled, and the tips of her ears turned red. "My projects usually don't turn out the way that I intend actually."

"What do you mean?" Santana continued to speak as she started to lead Brittany toward the section of books that she wanted. Santana looked back the moment that she started to walk away from the desk to check that Brittany was following her; she was. When she was checking for her, Santana's eyes happened to notice Brittany's black shorts, and more specifically, the long, toned legs that went with those shorts.

She snapped her eyes forward again when Brittany started to speak, "Well, did you ever make those mousetrap race cars in school?"

"Sure," Santana smiled proudly and added, "Mine won."

Brittany gave her an amused looked, "Well, I got a little distracted while making mine, so I added a second part." Intrigued, Santana raised an eyebrow. "It was supposed to catapult the glitter all over the hallway in celebration after we won, but it shot glitter all over my science teacher who happened to move in the way."

"Oh no," Santana laughed, but she tried to stifle it with her hand.

Brittany solemnly added, "Mr. O'Brian's beard glittered for a week." She took the books that Santana handed her without hesitation and followed her back to the counter.

"Were you in trouble?"

"I had four weeks' worth of detention which I still think should have ended once his beard stopped glittering."

"Oh man," Santana shook her head while her laughter finally subsided.

Brittany placed her forearms on the counter, quirked an eyebrow, and leaned in conspiratorially, "Did you ever get detention?"

"Sometimes," Santana admitted while she checked out Brittany's books. "It was a long time ago, and it was mostly just for being late to class. I blame Puck and his worthless car anyway. It broke down all the time on the way to school."

Curious blue eyes blinked and made contact with Santana's, "Is Puck a boyfriend?"

"Not for a long time," Santana laughed again while she handed Brittany her things. She had come out long ago, or what seemed like long ago, so it was rare for someone to ask her about a boyfriend. After a beat, she realized that Brittany wouldn't realize why that was funny. She then added, "We're just friends. Believe me." The phone interrupted before she needed to add anything further, "I'm sorry. I have to get that."

Brittany just smiled reassuringly, "It's okay. I have to go buy some supplies for this birdhouse. I'll see you later."

"Good luck with that."

* * *

Santana didn't have to wait as long to see Brittany the fourth time. She and Hannah arrived at the library a few days later. Santana stopped shelving some books when she heard the door to the library open, and she smiled once she saw who it was. "Hi, is there anything that I can help you two find today?"

Hannah immediately bounded up to Santana and talked as quietly as she could while excited. "We talked about dinosaurs today at school. Then, we read this book that had one in it!" She looked back at her mother who was just a few steps behind. "Mom, you'll like it too. She dances. Dinosaur ballerina!"

Brittany joined the other two and asked, "Is that enough to find it?"

Santana thought for a moment before realizing, "I think I know what you're talking about." She led them over to the children's area and kneeled down to get one from the bottom shelf. She held it out to Hannah. "Is it this one?"

Hannah quickly grabbed _Brontorina_ by James Howe from Santana's hands, "Yes!"

"You might like these too." Santana pointed to where she had grabbed that book from, and Hannah started to look through them.

Santana stood and walked closer to Brittany. She crossed her arms and turned so that they could both face Hannah while talking. She turned her head to look at Brittany once she actually spoke though, "You know, we do story time every Saturday if you're ever interested."

Brittany stopped watching her daughter leaf through books for a moment and met Santana's eyes curiously. "We?"

"Well, I mean, it's me usually." She finished her statement and bit her lip nervously. This wasn't the first time that she told parents about story time, but she felt herself growing hopeful as she waited for an answer. So ridiculous. Puck was going to give her so much shit about this.

Brittany's eyes flicked from Santana's eyes to her own shoes and then back to Santana's eyes. "What time on Saturdays?""Eleven,"

Santana couldn't hide her excitement, but she tried to subdue it by looking back at Hannah who was still examining several books.

"We'll see you at eleven then," Brittany gave Santana one last look before joining her daughter to look at the books.

* * *

The following Saturday morning found Santana nervously looking at the two books that she had picked for story time that day. She liked to do themes. They had been reading Halloween-related books all October. Her first book, _Stellaluna_ by Janell Cannon, was not technically a Halloween story, but its main character was a bat. Santana figured it was close enough. Her second choice, _Room on the Broom_ by Julia Donaldson, was about a witch and her pets as they flew around on her broom. She loved story time, but she was nervous this time around which was ridiculous. She shouldn't be nervous about whether Brittany and Hannah showed up or not. Even if they did show up, it wasn't like Brittany would pay any attention anyway. She'd probably pull out her phone or something while Santana read…if they even showed up. That thought didn't stop Santana from standing in front of the mirror and double-checking her Halloween costume though. After assuring herself that she looked just like she did when she checked the mirror five minutes ago, she strode over to the story time area of the library.

They showed up. Santana noticed them come in several minutes before story time was supposed to start. She didn't get the chance to speak to them though. She was helping get everyone settled. When she began reading, she felt her nerves lessen as the stories progressed. If she had to say so herself, she was pretty talented at drawing in her audience while she read…even if her audience consisted of babies, toddlers, and young children. Once she started story time on Saturday mornings, she was glad that she hadn't listened to Puck who said that no adults would ever sign their families up since the only thing that people wanted to listen to was erotica. He was an idiot sometimes. The way that the children listened to her every word seemed to indicate that they were entranced by the Halloween stories too. In fact, most of the parents were even listening. Brittany included. When their eyes met, Santana couldn't help but smile, and she almost dropped her witch voice for a moment. She recovered though and made sure to keep her eyes looking elsewhere around the group for the remainder of the story. Afterward, she announced to the small group, "The Halloween books are up on the display. Feel free to take a look. Just meet me at the checkout when you're ready."

Before she reached the counter, she was met with a smile and, "Hey."

"Hi, Brittany," she answered and attempted to calm her nerves. If she managed to subdue some of her reactions, Santana was pretty sure that they could be friends. She really didn't want to hook up with someone who wanted to keep visiting the library; that hadn't worked out numerous times in the past. Also, Brittany and Hannah were both so sweet, and Santana, well, wasn't. She didn't want to mess that up. Santana looked around and noticed Hannah just a few feet away looking at some books.

Brittany's eyes left her daughter for a moment to meet Santana's, "You did a really nice job, Santana."

Pleased, Santana couldn't help the dimples that appeared when she smiled, "Thank you."

"I'd listen to you narrate any book."

Santana surprised herself by blushing at the compliment. She'd heard plenty of compliments during her life, but Brittany looked so earnest while she said it. Also, the compliments usually mentioned how attractive she was. She wasn't that surprised when she couldn't stop herself from flirting, "You should come to story time more often then." She had better game than that usually. Before she could give herself the courage to check Brittany's reaction to that comment, she glanced around the library; no one was doing anything that required her intervening. When she turned back to Brittany, she noticed Brittany eyeing her short black boots, green and black striped knee socks, black dress, and slightly crooked witch's hat.

Keeping a straight face, Brittany asked, "Do you always dress up for story time?" She arched an eyebrow.

"No," Santana looked down at her costume again. She was sure that it would be obvious why she was wearing it. She quickly added, "This is because Halloween is next week Thursday." When she looked back at Brittany, she saw the smirk on her face. "But, you already knew that."

Brittany chuckled, "I maybe had a guess. It looks good on you though."

A blonde head chose that moment to appear next to Brittany, "Mom, I'm ready."

Santana's eyes widened for a moment at the sudden interruption, but she quickly recovered. Hannah didn't need to see someone flirting with her mom, and again, Brittany was probably taken anyway. Santana turned her attention to the younger blonde as they all finished the walk to the counter. "So, Hannah, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

Hannah stood on her tiptoes to see Santana better when she answered, "Elsa."

"From _Frozen_?"

Hannah nodded quickly, "I love that movie."

Santana lowered her voice to a mock whisper, "Me too."

Hannah's eyes grew wide. "Really?" Santana nodded. "Do you sing along? Mom and I do!"

Santana scoffed and winked at Hannah, "Of course," and handed the books to Brittany. She may have sung along once or twice or every time when watching it with her nephews and niece. "Happy Halloween to both of you."

With that, Santana looked back up at Brittany only to be met with a soft, "Happy Halloween, Santana."

* * *

The Wednesday before Halloween was looking to be the perfect setting for the holiday although not great for trick-or-treaters if it continued into the next day. It had been storming all day long. It was five minutes to eight; Santana was almost done with work. Although she loved working at the library just as much, if not more, than when she started two years ago, it had been a long day, and she was ready to leave for the night. She was scheduled to work the next day which happened to be Halloween, but there was only a handful of people left in the library for the night anyway. She sighed and surveyed those left. Two people were on the computers, one was looking at movies, and one was picking out a book. That was it. The door opened just as Santana was warning the patrons, "Five minutes until close." They all immediately began to get their items together. Once when Santana was having a bad day, she may have yelled at a man to hurry up and pick a movie already when he stayed too long past close…Santana never told that story, except once to Puck, but word must have spread because the library regulars made it a point to not stay late after that.

There was a squeak on the floor. Santana meant to just glance over, but her gaze stayed when she saw who was at the door. Brittany was sopping wet. Sneaky tendrils of blonde hair had worked themselves out of her ponytail to cling to her face, her jeans were speckled in raindrops, and her light gray and pink sweater clung to her wherever it was wet. "Brittany?" Santana questioned while the other woman approached the counter.

"I'm sorry," Brittany began, "I know it's late." She attempted to wipe her feet off on the mat, but they still squeaked once she started to walk toward the counter.

"You're drenched," Santana observed, and Brittany gave her a wry look. She continued, "Where's Hannah?" Although Brittany had arrived to the library without her daughter before, this was the first time that Santana knew that Hannah couldn't have been at school.

"My parents came over for dinner tonight to see Hannah's Halloween costume. She's in bed now, but they're still there." Brittany crossed and uncrossed her arms before settling for resting her hands on the counter. "This is important though."

"Okay," Santana was a little perplexed, but this wasn't the first time that someone had arrived late to the library with one request or another. Sometimes they weren't even questions that related to the library. Brittany's attempt to adjust her sweater so that it was a little less clingy only lead to a sliver of stomach being shown, and it took Santana's voice a moment to remember to ask, "How may I help you?"

Brittany gave up on her outfit and let her hands rest on the counter again. Santana observed how fidgety she was. Brittany looked at Santana evenly for a moment before she spoke, "Some of my friends are coming over to my house for a Halloween dinner party, and, uh, I was just wondering," Brittany looked away from Santana for a moment and looked at her own hand where she was drumming her fingers on the counter. "I was just thinking about the party, and…" Brittany trailed off for a moment.

Santana could feel her heart beat speed up. Was Brittany asking what Santana thought she was asking? Santana licked her lips and waited a beat. Brittany wasn't continuing, and she was still looking at the counter. Santana's brain tried to reason with the rest of her body which felt a little like it was humming ever since Brittany had trailed off with her question. The more rational side of her brain reasoned that maybe there was some weird book that she wanted before the party, and she didn't have the nerve to ask. "If there's some book that you need on making a house looked haunted or something, I guarantee you that I've heard stranger requests," she joked.

Brittany's eyebrows scrunched together. "What?" Santana instantly wondered if she had said the right thing.

"People come in looking for all kinds of things right before Halloween. I guarantee you that I'll hear some extra weird ones tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"We're having a Halloween party from four until seven tomorrow, and a lot of people show up usually. Since we're having an event tomorrow, we're canceling story time for the week by the way." When Brittany didn't say anything, Santana added, "We have door prizes tomorrow though."

"Oh," said Brittany quietly. She hesitated for a moment. She stopped drumming her fingers on the counter, quirked up the corners of her mouth, and asked, "Are you dressing up as a witch again?"

Santana laughed. "I have a different costume for tomorrow actually," she admitted, and she noticed the other patrons lining up behind Brittany. It was nine. Shit. She had forgotten to make the closing announcement. She cleared her throat, "I'm not being very helpful. What did you need?"

"Oh," Brittany looked around for a moment, "I'm looking for some books to help make some Halloween treats for the party."

"Sure," that wasn't weird like Santana thought it might be. Maybe she was embarrassed that she had forgotten to make treats until the night before. That's not embarrassing though either…Santana's heart fluttered for a moment as she again considered that maybe Brittany hadn't been looking for a book after all. Santana scoffed; that was a ridiculous thought. Santana pointed to her left where the Halloween section was, "Take a look over there."

"Thanks," Brittany stated before going to look where Santana had pointed. Once everyone else was checked out, Brittany didn't seem ready, so Santana started to run through some closing procedures. She wouldn't usually let a patron keep browsing while she closed up, but Brittany looked so cute when she was concentrating. She was biting her lip and furrowing her eyebrows as she flipped through a couple of the books. Needless to say, Santana let her stay and browse until she grabbed a couple and made her way to the counter.

While Santana checked the books out to Brittany, she looked at the titles. On the third book, she commented, "That one's really good. I like the witch's brew recipe in it."

Brittany smiled, "I was thinking that the finger sandwiches looked like a pretty disgustingly delicious choice."

"Yum," Santana scrunched up her nose in mock disgust and smiled. She handed over the books, "These are due in two weeks."

Santana thought that the blonde was going to grab the books and leave, but Brittany looked at her curiously for a moment. Santana felt her heart beat faster; she was nervous because she couldn't read Brittany's expression. After a moment, Brittany seemed to make a decision, and she leaned on the counter. "So, what's your costume for tomorrow?"

Santana smiled, "I'm going to be Carmen Sandiego, and everyone is supposed to guess where I've been. We're going to have clues in the children's part of the library, and we'll have a map on the wall," she gestured to her right while she shut down her computer and put a few items on the shelf behind her. "I'll read a couple of books that hint to where I've been before reading the Halloween stories. The kids will get time to make guesses about where I've been, and there are door prizes."

"That's fantastic," Brittany commented as Santana finished up what she needed to do in the library. Santana had checked a few times while she was finishing up, and Brittany didn't seemed to mind that Santana was walking around while they talked. Santana was always within hearing and speaking distance of Brittany, and when Santana turned around once, she could have sworn that Brittany's eyes were focused on her ass.

Santana walked back to the counter and quirked an eyebrow, "Are you dressing up?" Santana had spent some time during the last few days thinking about what Brittany would wear for Halloween. Some of it was entirely appropriate, but others…

Santana briefly wondered if she had said some of her costume suggestions out loud when Brittany smirked and answered, "I won't dress up at work, but I'll dress up that night as Thing 2."

Santana nodded while she gathered her coat, purse, and umbrella and placed them on the counter. Dressing at Thing 2 made sense. Santana knew that Hannah had gotten into a Dr. Seuss streak when it came to books, but she felt her stomach twist when she realized that she already knew Hannah's Halloween costume.

In what seemed to be an attempt to torture herself further, she asked, "Hannah is Elsa, right?"

"Yeah," Brittany supplied nonchalantly, "Her choice. She also picked the outfits for Quinn and me. As you may have noticed, she's getting interested in Dr. Seuss."

Before Santana could stop herself, she was asking, "Quinn?" She felt ridiculous even asking the question, but she couldn't help it even though she knew when they first met that Brittany was probably taken. In an attempt to hide the amount of interest that she had in the question, she began to button her coat and looked away from Brittany.

"Hannah's aunt, but not through blood if you want to be technical," Brittany explained. Santana could feel Brittany's eyes on her as she answered, and Brittany paused before adding, "And my best friend." Santana felt the air rush back into her lungs and her stomach relax.

To hide her smile, Santana looked down and grabbed the keys from her purse before changing the subject, "Why won't you dress up at work?"

If she noticed the subject change, Brittany was polite enough to not question it. She laughed, "Well, it wouldn't really work for my job. I'm a financial advisor, and I spend most of my time at home going through other people's finances. I would either be wearing my costume into a meeting with a client, or I'd be wearing it while sitting at my house."

While they were talking, they moved toward the door. "I see why you wouldn't wear your costume to work. That's an impressive job though. How long have you been doing that?"

"A little over five years. It's actually why I moved here in August; a transfer opened up."

Santana flipped off the lights, "What made you move here?" After she realized how that could sound, she added, "I just mean that the town doesn't exactly have a riveting events calendar or anything to attract people."

Brittany's shoulder brushed against Santana's as they both stepped out the door and under Santana's umbrella. It wasn't pouring, but it was still raining. Brittany explained, "We're only about an hour from Minneapolis which is where Hannah and I were before, so the calendar of events isn't that bad. Plus, my parents already lived in town, and Quinn was thinking about a transfer into it…" She chuckled before admitting, "They badgered me for a while before I caved." Once Santana stopped walking, Brittany followed suit. She looked around for a moment and seemed a little baffled before turning back to Santana. She placed her hand on Santana's umbrella just above Santana's own hand. Her pinky lightly scratched across the top of Santana's hand, "Did you just walk me to my car?"

Santana licked her lips nervously and admitted, "Yes, well, it's raining." When Brittany didn't move her hand, Santana added, "To be honest, I only guessed that this was your car since it was the only other one in the parking lot." Brittany smiled softly at her, and the butterflies in Santana's stomach grew. She knew that this crush was ridiculous, but she still waited until after Brittany had thanked her and gotten inside her car before walking to her own car across the parking lot.

* * *

A few days after Halloween, the temperature began to steadily drop. Now, everyone was talking about when they would get their first snowfall for the year. Because of this, Santana was beginning a snow and winter holiday book area on one of the tables. She hadn't been focused on who had entered the library until she heard, "Santana, we read The Snowy Day today at school. It was great!"

Santana looked down and saw Hannah in a bright purple coat and matching hat and gloves. Santana smiled, "That is a good one, Hannah." She reached out and squeezed the multicolored poof ball on the top of Hannah's hat, "I also really like your hat."

Hannah grinned, "Thank you!"

Santana stepped to the side a little, "I just finished putting out some other winter books if you want to take a look." Hannah nodded, and Santana pointed at a couple that she thought were particularly good. Just as Hannah started to flip through one of them, Brittany walked over from the book drop.

Brittany stuck her hands into the pockets of her coat as she approached Santana, "Sorry, she was a little ahead of me today once we got inside here." She motioned toward the book drop, "I was just returning a few things."

Santana smiled reassuringly, "That's okay. She found some winter books to look at." She reached out before she could think twice about it and ran a finger across Brittany's bright blue scarf above her collarbone, "I like your scarf." She could have sworn that Brittany shivered a bit at then; the chill must have followed her inside.

"Thanks," Brittany eyed Santana for a moment, "Why do you look like you met Elsa at the beginning of the movie?"

Santana's eyes furrowed a little in confusion, "What?"

Brittany blushed so hard that even the tips of her ears were pink, "I'm sorry. Hannah's been wanting to watch Frozen every day because she is convinced that it will snow this week." She looked back up at Santana again, "I meant that you looked cold."

Damn it. Santana should have been able to get that, "You're so smart." She hadn't meant to say that out loud. The way that Brittany's mouth dropped open a little, and her pink ears turned red, Santana would have thought that Brittany wasn't used to hearing that. She cleared her throat, "Actually, they're working on the heater this week, so it turns off sometimes. I haven't heard many people complain luckily, but I get cold easily." She crossed her arms and shrugged.

"Is it supposed to be done by the end of the week then?"

"I hope so. I want it at least done before Saturday, or I'll have to consider canceling story time this week."

Brittany smiled, "Have you picked out books yet for this weekend?"

"Of course," Santana admitted.

Brittany walked the couple of steps over to her daughter and tapped the page that she was looking at, and they both made a funny face at one another, "What do you think, Hannah? Should we come to story time again this weekend?"

Hannah nodded, "Yes!"

Brittany turned back to Santana, "Well, I guess that's decided." She looked down at her daughter again, "Have you found some good books, or do you want some help finding some?" Hannah held up her stack of books as her answer, and Brittany turned back to Santana, "Well, I think that means that we're ready."

The heat was fixed by Friday. After Santana read the two books that she had picked out on Saturday, she helped a little boy and his parents find some books about tigers and a little girl and her grandmother find books on crocheting and one about a little girl playing soccer. Then, she helped a woman sign up for a new library card. Santana didn't get a chance to talk to Brittany and Hannah until after they had picked out some books and movies and were ready to checkout. She found out that Hannah's favorite subjects were math and art. She also found out that they had bought some different types of sleds in anticipation of snow. It lead to Santana imagining how cute Brittany and Hannah would be if they were to all go sledding together long after they left.

* * *

Thoughts of sledding were still sneaking in a few days later, and Santana found that she really didn't think she would mind sledding with them. Sure, Santana hadn't gone since she was nineteen and in college and stole a tray from the cafeteria to use as a sled, and that was eight years ago now…But, she kept thinking that it might be fun with them. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts. She couldn't talk to Puck about it because he was already suspicious about Santana's lack of flings lately and the supposedly large amount of conversations where she mentioned Brittany "with a glint in her eye." He kept warning her to be careful because she and Brittany were friends, and Brittany had a kid. She kept reminding him that they were just that: friends. Plus, she was sure that Brittany was already taken.

Nonetheless, Santana couldn't be held responsible for thoughts that the cold caused. The cold had also brought about some thoughts as to how Santana could warm Brittany up under her red sheets at night. She'd found herself blushing a few times when she caught herself daydreaming at work. Now, it was Wednesday morning, and it still distracted her enough to drop a book when a man asked to sign up to the use the computer. It had been about an hour since then, and she still felt strange. Between that embarrassment and talking to Puck who had apparently listened to her talk about Brittany a little too often and reminded her about her lack of a real relationship for the last several years, she resolved to turn a new leaf on this whole Brittany thing. This crush could go away.

Santana had resolved to stay on task and was browsing through her work emails while resting her chin on her hand. She was startled a second time that morning when a voice suddenly spoke and drew her out of her thoughts, "Hi." Santana may have jumped a little, and Brittany seemed to attempt to hide her smile at that, "Good morning, Santana."

"Hi, Brittany," Caught off guard, Santana stumbled on her words for a moment, "What can I help you find?"

"Well, I had some books to return, and I just wanted to drop these off," Brittany commented as she slid a few books into the return slot. She shifted her weight from one foot to the either. "Still cold?" She questioned as she ran a finger over the knitting on Santana's fingerless gloves. She didn't wait for an answer and after a moment, she placed a few items on the desk and slid them toward Santana, "Also, I brought you some coffee and a bagel." Her smile faltered for a moment, and she added, "To stay warm." Santana felt her heart begin to beat faster. Brittany brought her breakfast.

"Really?" Santana's voice was a little flightier than she wanted it to be. Brittany nodded; the tips of her ears turning pink. "Thank you," Santana covered her smile with her coffee cup while she took a drink, "This is my favorite. How'd you know?"

Brittany's smile arched a little higher, and the blush spread to her cheeks, "It's possible that coffee shop workers were bribed to tell me your order." She narrowed her eyes playfully, "You're pretty well-known in town, you know."

Santana scoffed and rolled her eyes, but a smile still played on her lips, "What are your plans for today?"

Brittany smiled, "Well, I have a meeting later this morning, and Hannah and I are watching Quinn's dog this weekend. I have to go pick him up this afternoon after I pick up Hannah from school."

Santana stealthily peeked inside the bagel bag as she moved it off to the side. Yum, it looked like a blueberry one. "I bet Hannah's excited about watching the dog," she guessed.

"Oh, she's thrilled. We have a cat, but we don't have a dog. You should probably be ready to help her pick out some books on dogs next week."

Santana laughed, "I can do that."

"Actually," Brittany realized, "We'll probably be here on Saturday for story time, so she'll probably ask then."

"Oh," Santana looked down at the counter for a moment before looking back at Brittany, "My co-worker Mary will definitely find you two find what you want then."

"What?" Brittany looked momentarily panicked.

Santana shrugged apologetically, "I'm not working this Saturday."

"Oh," Brittany looked down at the flyer that her hand was resting on. After a beat she asked, "There's a book group that meets here on Tuesday evenings?"

Even though she had read it a thousand times, and it was upside down for her, Santana glanced down at the poster, "Yeah, it just started." After a moment, she also admitted, "I think it's pretty small so far."

"Hm," Brittany tapped the flyer once more before glancing at her watch. "I have to get going to my first meeting, but have a good morning, Santana."

Fiddling with her cup, Santana responded, "Thanks again, Brittany."

* * *

It still hadn't snowed by Saturday, so Santana decided to go for a run that morning. Puck often went running with her, but she knew that he was working until that evening. So, after she had some coffee and deemed herself awake enough, she slipped on her black thermal running spandex and red fitted jacket before stretching and taking off toward the park.

She had a few different routes that she liked to take to get there. One was shorter, and it didn't have many noteworthy landmarks on the way aside from the house that was always extremely decorated near holidays. It used to annoy her when she first moved to town, but she had been finding herself looking forward to it after that first year in town because she just knew that whoever owned that house must have fantastic holidays. They didn't have any decorations up yet though; she checked the other day. Another route was longer and went past an outdoor café where she would sometimes stop for water…and to meet women. She had ended her run there a few times after meeting someone who was in line for coffee or tea. She chose her third path that day. It was the longest, but it took her past some of the most historic and beautiful houses in town as well as through the entire park. She needed some time to clear her head anyway.

Once she got to the park, she stopped at a vendor for a chance to catch her breath and buy a water. After buying it, she moved to the side and took a sip before looking to see how busy the park was. Due to the cold, there weren't many people around. There were a few other runners, two teenagers on swings, and one group of three headed straight for the vendor. They hadn't noticed her yet. Brittany's head was looking down at the Hannah; the puppy with them bounded a few steps ahead of them. Santana could overhear Brittany asking, "Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"Yes," Hannah nodded vigorously and grabbed her mom's hand that wasn't holding the leash. It wasn't until after they had reached the vendor and ordered the hot chocolate that Brittany began to look perplexed. Santana saw her realize that she didn't have a free hand like usual while holding Hannah's hand.

Santana spoke up from where she was off to the side, "I think you need a third arm."

Brittany's eyes snapped over to her, "Santana?" After a moment, her shocked expression grew into a smile.

"Hey," Santana moved even closer and pulled out her wallet, "Hi, Hannah."

"Hi, Santana!"

Santana smiled down at her after paying for the hot chocolate and ignoring Brittany's attempt to say that she'd pay for it, "Who's your friend, Hannah?"

"This is Oscar! We're watching him for Auntie Quinn."

Brittany added, "He's about six months old, so he had some energy to burn off." She smiled down at Hannah, "And we did too," and Hannah giggled before twirling herself with her mom's arm instead of actually answering. Brittany twirled her once more and then continued, "So, we figured that we'd go for a walk. Right, Hannah?" Hannah nodded quickly, but she was mostly focused on her hot chocolate that had just been handed to her. She released her mother's hand in order to hold the cup with both hands. Brittany turned back to Santana as they all walked away from the vendor, "Thank you for the hot chocolate."

Santana smiled and winked, "Well, I had a favor to return."

Brittany blushed and eyed up Santana's outfit slowly, "You're a runner?"

Santana shrugged as the group began to walk through the park and away from the vendor, "Until it snows anyway. I go less then. Do you run?"

Brittany smiled, "When I have time. I have a treadmill so that I can run at home, but I get bored when I do that sometimes. Dancing, on the other hand, is not so boring. I used to teach a class back in Minneapolis. I might look into it here too." Brittany looked over at her daughter, "Hannah's a really good dancer too, aren't you?"

Hannah grinned, "Yeah!" After a moment, she admitted, "I like soccer better though." She drank more of her hot chocolate and added, "I'm on a team."

"Oh yeah? Do you score goals or keep other people from scoring goals?"

"Both," Hannah answered quickly.

Santana chuckled and smiled down at her, "That's the way to do it, Hannah. I bet you're a great soccer player." Hannah just beamed before she turned her attention back to Oscar and her hot chocolate. She walked a few feet ahead of Santana and her mother in order to match pace with the puppy and started humming. Santana turned to Brittany. "It looks like taking care of Oscar is going pretty well?"

Brittany nodded, "It really is. They've always gotten along well though. She has helped me walk him every day when she's home. He also sleeps with her every night. There's hardly room on her bed for her with Tubbs and Oscar now. Quinn comes back tomorrow though…" She looked at Hannah and Oscar ahead of her and trailed off.

Santana quirked an eyebrow, "Tubbs?"

"Oh! Right, you probably didn't know his name," she chuckled. "Our cat is Lord Tubbington. Tubbs for short. I've had him for six years, so he's actually older than Hannah. He always used to sleep with me, but once she moved into a big girl bed, he moved too. I can't say that I blame him any."

"Lord Tubbington. That's…a unique name."

"I've been told that he's a pretty unique cat, so that fits." Brittany took a sip of her hot chocolate before continuing, "What about you. Do you have any pets?"

"Me? Oh, no," Brittany frowned. Santana quickly added, "Not that I'm opposed or anything. I just don't have one." She shrugged, "Puck has a bearded dragon."

"Dragon?" Hannah stopped humming and turned back to her mom and Santana with big eyes. "Does it fly?"

Santana chuckled, "This type of dragon doesn't fly."

"Does it breathe fire?"

"No," Hannah pouted upon hearing the news. "He is pretty friendly though and likes to sleep out on the porch during the summer."

"Hm," Hannah contemplated this for a moment. "Mom, I still vote puppy," she added as she turned her attention back to Oscar.

Brittany turned to explain to Santana, "She really wants a second pet ever since we started taking care of Oscar because she's never had a baby pet before."

"I get the feeling that you've talked about this before?"

Brittany chuckled, "You have no idea." As they waited for a light to change, Brittany looked around before asking, "Wait, we interrupted your run. Are we taking you completely out of your way?"

"No, actually. I mean, it wasn't the way that I came before, but I sometimes take this way home. Do you live around here?"

"Not anymore," Brittany explained and pointed behind them, "Hannah and I have an apartment back that way on the other side of the park. We're going to my parents' house for brunch."

"That sounds delicious," Santana said and then noticed that the house that always got decorated was partially decorated already with winter decorations. "They started to decorate!"

Brittany looked ahead to where Santana was, "Oh, yeah. My dad thought that putting out some of the decorations might prompt the snow to start."

Santana's mouth dropped open a little, "This is your parents' house?"

Brittany blushed and looked sheepish, "You know it?"

"Know it?" Santana sounded incredulous, and Brittany looked down at the ground. "No, no, not like that," Santana reached for Brittany's free hand as they reached the fence. Although Brittany was wearing a glove, so their bare hands weren't even touching, Santana made herself drop it once Brittany looked back at her, "I know it because it's my favorite." Brittany looked skeptical, so Santana continued with a soft smile, "Really, it is. I know it sounds ridiculous. I just feel like it…helps with the holidays. I especially like the scene that they set up during the winter that looks like a scene straight out of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys."

Brittany finally smiled again, "I like that one too. I think my favorite might be the polar bear cubs though." She glanced ahead of them where Hannah was starting up the sidewalk, and Oscar became impatient and wanting to follow her. "We better go, but thanks for the company, Santana. Enjoy your run."

"Have a good brunch," Santana replied and then called ahead to Hannah, "Bye, Hannah!"

Hannah turned back around and looked at the two women seeming confused as to why they weren't following her. She skipped back to the two of them. "I thought you were coming with!" Hannah exclaimed before briefly hugging Santana around her knees.

"Oh, Honey, we interrupted Santana's run. I'm sure that she wants to finish it," Brittany explained. After a moment, she added, "You should sometime though," and she turned to watch Hannah continue her way up the short sidewalk before adding, "come with, I mean." She looked back at Santana, "If you want, of course."

Santana felt the butterflies flutter faster in her stomach as she answered, "That sounds nice." After that, Brittany smiled and motioned after her daughter as she followed her down the sidewalk too.

Santana wanted to turn and watch them walk up to the house, but she knew that she shouldn't. So, she just kept her jog toward home; she made it in record time.

* * *

The following Tuesday was the second meeting for the book club. They only met once a month, but the group of five who met were…quite the group. Even through the conference room door, you could sometimes hear them laughing…or arguing. Based on the snippets that Santana overheard, they were trying to decide what book to read next. Whatever. As long as they kept the door shut to muffle the sound, Santana would call the book group a success. As far as she knew, it was the first time that a book group had met at the library. Santana was trying to decide if they were louder or quieter than the teenagers who played card games and video games there every Monday night, but her thoughts were interrupted once when the front door opened. Before she could look up and smile at them, she heard the tail end of a sentence, "Brittany, I don't mind coming with you, but, seriously, how many groups are left for you to join?"

It was a voice that Santana didn't recognize, but she definitely recognized the response, "Quinn, just...shush." Brittany responded in a voice that Santana assumed was supposed to be a whisper, but it wasn't a very successful one.

"Shush?" asked the woman who was apparently Quinn. She was really beautiful and a few inches shorter with shorter blonde hair that was a different blonde than Brittany's. The two were clearly close as both women started laughing after Quinn added something softly in a voice that Santana couldn't hear. Santana again found herself wondering if maybe Brittany could be dating her. She just couldn't help it.

In an attempt to cover her eavesdropping, she dropped her eyes back to her computer screen. She opened her work email and pretended to be busy for a moment before looking up. Brittany and Quinn were still a few steps away, but they were both looking at her this time, "Hi."

Brittany smiled and waved a little, "Hi, Santana."

Quinn just quirked an eyebrow, "So, you're Santana." Santana couldn't quite explain how, but Quinn's smile seemed to change just a little in that moment. Quinn took one more step forward and reached out her hand, "I'm Quinn Fabray."

Something made Santana take extra care to ensure that her handshake was firm as she took the outstretched hand, "Santana Lopez. It's nice to meet you."

Based on the fact that Quinn's smirk became more of a smile after that, Santana assumed that she did something right anyway.

Quinn began to speak, but Brittany cut her off, "Quinn's just explaining that we're here for the book group."

"Oh, sure," Santana knew that Brittany had planned on joining that group, but seeing Brittany…just made her forget that Brittany was there for the library, not herself. She felt silly. "They meet in that room," and Santana gestured to one of the rooms off to right and behind them. "I think everyone's in there, but they haven't been here for long," she added.

The sound of laughing from that room could be heard for a moment. Brittany turned toward Quinn and again failed at whispering as she told her, "See, it'll be fun." Quinn rolled her eyes but smiled at her nonetheless.

After a beat, Quinn turned back toward Santana, still smiling, "Are you part of the group?"

"What?" At Santana's confusion, Quinn gestured back toward the occupied conference room, "Oh no. They just meet here."

"Really?" Brittany's ears turned a light shade of pink when both of the other women looked at her, "I just thought that it might be like on Saturday where someone from the library is in charge of the event."

"Oh," Santana stammered, "Uh, we just provide multiple copies of whatever book you choose."

Santana noticed Quinn raise an eyebrow at Brittany after that before commenting, "Alright. Thank you." When neither of them moved, Quinn added, "Let's go check it out, Brittany."

* * *

After the first Tuesday book club, Brittany mentioned to Santana that she and Quinn planned to make it a regular thing. Storytime Saturdays were still a thing too, and Brittany didn't miss many. Hannah and Brittany showed up regularly for new books as well. Santana was getting increasingly used to seeing them, and it still made her smile every single time. It wasn't until a couple of Thursdays after the first book club meeting that Brittany showed up alone and unscheduled again though. While fidgeting with her book, Brittany explained to Santana that she needed some time built into her schedule to read the book for book club or else she was never going to get herself to finish it, but she spent half of her time at the counter and around the library with Santana. The other half of the time found her draped across a chair with her book in one hand and snacks that she snuck out of her purse in the other one. Santana wasn't to blame if her eyes drifted over there a few times while Brittany read.

Santana found herself disappointed when they were closed on Thanksgiving Day, and she didn't see Brittany at all for a week except on Wednesday when she and Hannah got new books and on Saturday for story time.

Santana watched Brittany sneak snacks out of her purse for two Thursdays until she made a decision that Puck surprisingly didn't make fun of her for, and she made lunch for the two of them. Santana realized that she should have worked on what she was going to say to Brittany once she was standing in front of Brittany and unsure of what to say until Santana finally ventured to say, "Do you want to have lunch with me?" Brittany dropped the piece of Chex mix that she was holding onto her sweatshirt, and her mouth dropped open a little as she looked at the other woman. Santana looked up at the ceiling as though it held the answers before looking back at Brittany and lying, "I brought too much."

Brittany's smile was immediate, and Santana briefly wondered if Brittany knew she was lying when she ignored Santana's last comment to ask, "Sure, what'd you make for us?"

"I have some soup in a crock pot in the office."

"Are you allowed to have crock pots here?" Brittany teased and ran a pinky against Santana's while they walked.

Santana cleared her throat and admitted, "No, probably not." Brittany's laugh made it worth it, even when Santana's co-worker Mary gave them a look before moving out of the office area that they entered before going and settling herself at the front desk. "We're supposed to switch anyway," Santana promised.

Brittany glanced around the office. Santana found herself subtly straightening papers that weren't even hers. "Which desk is yours?"

Santana vaguely waved her hand toward one in the corner while she pulled out the bowls and silverware that she'd brought with. When she looked up, she found Brittany standing at it and surveying its contents. "It's all papers and books." That prompted Santana to look at the photos and lights that adorned a few of the other desks in the room.

"I have a lamp," Santana halfheartedly argued.

Brittany chuckled and stepped closer to Santana, "The soup smells really good. What kind is it?"

"Chicken tortilla," Santana supplied.

Brittany made a sound that sounded a lot like an, "Mmm," but before Santana could dwell on that for too long, she was distracted by Brittany kissing her cheek and the sound that escaped from her own mouth. "Thanks, you're so sweet," Brittany added. The kiss momentarily threw Santana for a loop, but she wrote it off after a second because just because she wasn't touchy-feely with her friends didn't mean that Brittany wasn't. Plus, Brittany's energy was so charismatic. Of course, she would be someone that was that type of close with her friends.

After a few moments of silence, Santana managed to argue, "I'm not sweet." Brittany's soft laugh said otherwise.

After that first Thursday lunch, it became tradition. Santana always brought too much, Mary grumpily watched the desk although she seemed to be warming up to Brittany, and the two of them spent about an hour in the office area enjoying whatever Santana made. It also became tradition for Brittany to stop in every Monday morning with a coffee for Santana to "warm her up" even though the heater had been fixed for weeks.

* * *

Puck's teasing had lessened over the past few weeks, and he instead switched to trying to talk to Santana about her feelings. She scoffed in reply, but the way his eyes softened whenever Santana caught herself talking about Brittany for too long gave Santana something to think about when she had a moment alone.

The Thursday before Christmas was the first Thursday in over a month where Santana would have described herself as anything other than happy or maybe slightly nervous, but Santana realized that she was sad. It was for a ridiculous reason. She wouldn't see Brittany until the following week Thursday because Saturday was Christmas, so the library was closed. The book club had picked up some steam, but it was still only held every other week, and it wasn't being held on the Tuesday between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Brittany eyed Santana while she picked at her sandwich, "Are you tired today?"

Santana shrugged, and Brittany's curiosity was piqued, but she allowed Santana's slight change of conversation when she simply asked, "Are you?" while Brittany stretched across part of the couch. Santana had only once questioned the couch's existence, and Mary had simply responded, "Where else do you sit during break?"

Brittany nodded through a yawn, "I've been trying to get everything ready for Christmas. You've seen the outside of my parents' house; next, you should see the inside. Plus, Hannah and I have been adding a few more decorations too." She took a bite of her sandwich before asking, "What do you do for the holidays?"

Santana placed her plate on the table in front of the couch before leaning into the couch's cushions. "Puck and I go visit our families in Ohio."

Brittany followed suit and sat her plate down on the table as well before asking, "And who does that include for you?" She turned to the side and tucked one of her legs under the other as she turned to face Santana. One of her kneecaps bumped against Santana's hip, and the other one bumped into Santana's knee as Brittany adjusted herself.

Santana turned her head to face Brittany before answering, "My parents, mí abuela, my two brothers, my sister-in-law, sometimes a girlfriend depending on who my other brother is dating, my niece, and my two nephews all go to my parents' house. Puck sometimes stops over after visiting his family too," Santana chuckled as Brittany's eyes grew larger as Santana listed more people. Santana added, "There's a lot of delicious food."

Brittany eyed the remains of her delicious sandwich, "I believe that. How old are your nephews and niece?"

"Two, five, and seven."

"And do they like to read?"

Santana chuckled. "The youngest one likes books so far. My niece who is five is interested too. The oldest doesn't have an interest, but we play video games."

Brittany was grinning, "Like what?"

"He's really into racing games." Santana shrugged before admitting, "I usually pick _Mario Kart_ when I get to choose." Santana picked at a few loose threads on her pants, and her fingers brushed against Brittany's leg. "What about you?"

"I know that it's old, but I really like _Guitar Hero_ still."

Santana rolled her eyes, and Brittany giggled even when Santana lightly hit her knee, "You know that's not what I meant." She met Brittany's eyes again and asked, "What do you do for the holidays?"

"Hannah, Quinn, and I go to my parents' house. Oscar too actually. We meet my little sister there. I think she's bringing a boyfriend this year too. I also have an aunt and uncle who live in Minneapolis, and they usually come visit. They have three children who come with too."

"It sounds like a pretty full house too." Brittany's hand had intercepted Santana's as it played with the threading on her pants, and Brittany began to draw shapes on the back of Santana's hand. Ever since the first kiss on the cheek, their touching had increased. Santana certainly didn't mind if Brittany was a little touchy with her friends. She tried to recall the times that she had seen Brittany and Quinn together and if they were constantly touching, but then Brittany did this swirl on her hand. All of Santana's thoughts were forgotten after that. Santana cleared her throat before asking, "You mentioned that your sister's bringing a boyfriend this year. Does Quinn ever bring a boyfriend?" Santana tried to convince herself that this line was questioning wasn't suspicious.

Brittany smiled a little but kept her eyes focused on their hands, "Sometimes. It's a pretty tight-knit group though. It's a weird family thing. It's supposed to be someone important if they come to the house." Her blue eyes flashed up to Santana's face as she bit her lip before continuing, "My cousins are younger, and they've never brought dates. Katie, my sister, has never brought anyone before this year. Quinn has brought two people before. And I…" Brittany trailed off while her hand stopped tracing drawings on Santana's hand, and she switched to playing with her fingers, "Well, Jack, Hannah's father never even made it the holiday dinner actually."

Santana tried not to let her interest in the topic show as she asked, "No?"

For once, Santana noticed the smile fade from Brittany's face. She didn't seem irritated by the question at least and not sad either when she manner-of-factly explained, "We dated for about seven months when I was twenty-three, but we actually broke up before I found out that I was expecting. After I told him, and we talked, I found out that he wasn't interested in being a father." What an asshole. The look on Brittany's face made Santana wonder if she said that out loud. Brittany shrugged and laced their fingers together, "I was still interested in being a mother."

"Well, you seem to be a great one. Hannah's fantastic." The smile on Brittany's face grew.

"What about you…have you ever brought a boyfriend home?"

"Besides Puck when we were in high school?" Brittany quirked her eyebrows as if to say obviously, so Santana continued. "Um, probably not." Santana fidgeted for a moment where she sat before stumbling out, "It would probably be more relevant to ask if I've ever brought home a girlfriend before though."

Brittany's smile quirked up at the corners, "Oh?"

"I'm gay." Santana sighed and looked over at Brittany who hadn't moved her hand away. "Is that a problem?"

"No, I've never brought a girl to the holidays either." The smirk on her face told Santana that Brittany knew what Santana was really asking, but Santana wasn't going to press it if Brittany wasn't. Without taking her hand away from Brittany's, Santana turned to mirror how Brittany was sitting on her couch, and their knees bumped. Santana sheepishly smiled at her clumsiness before bringing up her other hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Brittany's ear.

A male voice asked "Hello?" Santana's eyes widened, and she moved back a few inches. "Hello?" the voice asked again. It was coming from outside the room.

"Shit," Santana murmured as she stood up. That's right. Mary was out sick. Santana was flustered and took a moment to adjust her own hair. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Brittany who looked more amused than anything. "I have to go help him."

Brittany stretched out her hand to run her fingers against Santana's again, and Santana felt her face flush, "That's fine, Santana."

Santana felt bad. Really, she did. She ended up answering the phone twice and helping several patrons before she finally found her way back into the office. What she found was Brittany stretched across the couch asleep. Santana chuckled and covered her up with the blanket that she had in the office. Hey, sometimes it was really cold in the library, so she would use the blanket to cover up her legs. To be fair, she wasn't the only one who had a blanket in the office.

She let Brittany sleep for a bit after that. She kept an eye on the clock as she did some work in the library and helped a few patrons. As it neared one, Santana went and gently gripped Brittany's upper right shoulder and shook her gently, "Brittany," she whispered. When Brittany stirred a little, she added, "It's a few minutes before when you usually leave."

"Oh, sugar!" That did the trick. Brittany sat up instantly with wide eyes. "Thank you for waking me up. Also," she looked a little sheepish and touched her messy hair, "I'm sorry that I fell asleep."

"It's not a problem," Santana commented as she helped Brittany fix a few of the bits of hair that had gone awry before simply handing her the hat that Brittany had taken off earlier.

Brittany grinned before putting it on and pulling Santana in close for a hug, "Merry Christmas, Santana."

Santana snuck her arms around Brittany's waist and whispered, "Happy holidays, Brittany."

* * *

Santana had a weird work schedule the following week after Christmas. She took off an extra two days to stay longer with her family in Ohio, so Mary filled in for some of her shifts. When she returned just before New Year's Eve, she found out that "that blonde woman" came in and asked about her. When Mary had told the blonde woman that Santana was gone for a few days and offered to help her instead, the woman had told Mary that she'd come back for the book later. It had to be Brittany. Santana felt something inside of her flutter at that.

It wasn't until her second shift after she returned that she actually saw Brittany. She had been shelving some books when she heard, "Hi, Santana!" She looked up to see two bright blue eyes looking at her.

"Hey, Brittany," Santana replied easily, and she couldn't help the quick smile that found its way onto her face as she greeted her. "Anything that I can help you find?"

"You wear glasses?"

Despite knowing that they were there, Santana couldn't help but reach up and touch the glasses in question. She chuckled and glanced down at the book in her hands, "If I don't put in my contacts, then yes." She looked up in time to see Brittany still staring at her with a look that Santana couldn't quite decipher, so she asked, "Is it a shock?"

Brittany smiled, "No." When Santana raised her eyebrows at Brittany's short answer, Brittany added, "It's more like a pleasant surprise." Brittany reached out and lightly touched the frames, "You look beautiful."

Santana blushed, but before she could respond, the sound of a chair loudly scraping across the floor drew their attention away from one another and toward the front of the library where Mary was settling into her seat.

Surprised to see the other librarian, Brittany commented, "Mary's here early today."

"Yeah," Santana cleared her throat a little, "Actually, I'm done early today."

Blue eyes were quick to meet Santana's. "How early?"

"Um," Santana bit her lip. Come on. She'd already talked to Puck about this plan. He said it was solid…which may actually mean that it wasn't such a great plan. "About now actually."

"Oh," Brittany's smile faltered before she nodded and looked down.

"Look, Brittany," Santana began and reached out for Brittany's hand which was something that she was becoming so comfortable with.

Brittany let Santana grab her hand, but it didn't make her smile like it usually did. "I get it." She hesitated, "Um, Hannah and I will see you Saturday?" And with that, Brittany untangled their hands and managed a little wave before turning around.

It took Santana a moment to react, but then she was reaching out for her wrist, "Britt," and at the shortening of her name, Brittany turned back around. Santana slid her fingers down to link their pinkies together before smiling and asking, "I thought that lunch on Thursdays was our thing?" Brittany blinked at her, and her mouth opened a little. She didn't say anything though, so Santana continued, "I know that you're not that new to the area anymore, but have you ever eaten at Leo's?" Brittany shook her head, and Santana chuckled, "Want to go there for lunch today? Um," she scratched nervously at her arm, "on a date with me," she then clarified unnecessarily.

That seemed to prompt the smile that Santana was used to seeing Brittany sport. "Yes," Brittany immediately agreed, and the smile was still there after Santana had grabbed her coat from the back. Brittany leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "I think Mary's getting a little sick of us anyway."

Santana laughed and she intertwined their fingers together, "That's probably true too."


End file.
